My mission is to change the way things are done
Since graduating from the Police Training Center in 2003, Maja Stojanovska has worked her way up through the ranks, and she now serves as Commander of the Kisela Voda Police Station in Skopje. In a profession traditionally considered to be for men, Maja had to overcome many challenges along her career path, including gender bias and stereotyping. That is a big part of the reason that she is an enthusiastic participant in the Mission to Skopje’s Mentoring Programme for Women in Police, which was launched in 2017 to help young women navigate the male-dominated working environment of the police, overcome obstacles, and make the most of opportunities for professional advancement.
“I feel that I carry a burden on my back”, Maja says. “Many eyes are on me. I have paved the way for other colleagues to resist gender bias in the future.”
Maja is one of 106 women who have so far participated in the Programme, which builds self-confidence and professional skills for both mentees and mentors.
As a mentor, Maja is happy to share her own experience to help her mentee learn to manage her everyday tasks efficiently and establish and maintain work-life balance in a very demanding profession. Maja is in constant contact with her mentee, always ready to listen when she faces difficulties and needs support.
Participating in the Mentoring Programme has strengthened Maja’s sense of female solidarity. “I will fight for gender equality”, she says with determination. “My mission is to change the way things are done.”
Maja is not just talking about changing attitudes toward women in the police so that they have equal opportunities to succeed and advance, though that is certainly a key part of her goal. However, she also wants to promote positive effects in the communities where female officers work.
“I try to encourage my female colleagues to be more visible in their communities”, Maja says, particularly since female officers are often able to ease communication and interaction between the public and the police. But that’s not all. “Citizens demand that the police respect the law and conclude their cases without gender bias or prejudice”, Maja states. “Our citizens expect quick results and equal treatment of victims of domestic violence and other types of crime.”
Police units with mentors and mentees have seen positive changes in their climate, with improved teamwork, greater cohesiveness, greater awareness of gender-related issues and empowerment of young female officers. The police leadership has recognized the Mentoring Programme’s positive impact, and in 2021, the OSCE Mission and the Ministry of Internal Affairs began the process of institutionalizing the Programme in the human resource system of the police.
Maja offers a final word of encouragement to young female officers: “Be brave, be self-confident, take on the challenge, be consistent and never give up!”
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This story is drawn from the OSCE's 2021 Annual Report, page 54.
